Work With Me

How I went from corporate trainer to running a business I love and helping thousands of freelance trainers do the same

Building any business takes hard work and perseverance.

But building a freelance training business you love and that doesn’t feel like work takes a whole lot more.

Hello, I’m Sharon Gaskin

I’m the founder of The Trainers Training Company. I work with freelance trainers, like you, to help you create and grow successful and profitable training businesses.

I’m someone who has been in training and development all my working life, I’ve worked within large corporates as a Training Officer and Training Manager. In 2002 I became a freelance trainer. I started from scratch, I had just moved into a new area, I didn’t know anyone, didn’t know anything about marketing or selling. I had a rocky first year doing too much associate work for very little money but eventually managed to create a successful training business with many corporate clients such as Zurich, Europ Assistance and Lloyds Register Quality Assurance.

In 2009 I set up the Trainers Training Company. One of the biggest frustrations for me when I started out as a freelance trainer was the lack of information and support to help me start up and grow my business. There was a lot of generic advice around on starting a business but nothing specific to the training industry. I was finding increasingly that because people knew that I was doing it they started coming to me for advice on the things they should do become a freelance trainer, things like:

How do I get corporate clients?

You want to train corporate clients but where do you start and what shouldn’t you do?

How should I market myself?

Is my freelance training business a personal brand or a company?

How do I work out what to charge?

Do I charge an hourly rate? A day rate? Or some other training package offer?

How do I get associate work?

How do I find Associate work? Do I need a contract or does the other trainer supply it? How much do I charge for associate work?

Do I need a website for my freelance trainer business?

What social media platform should I use? What do I put on my freelance trainer website? Do I need a rates page?

And I found myself helping more and more freelance trainers

So I created The Trainers Training Company which is a 1 stop shop for freelance trainers to help them create and successfully grow their training company.

Welcome to the Trainers Training Company

In 2010 I expanded The Trainers Training Company to include Trainer Talk which has become a thriving and supportive community of freelance trainers where you can get help and advice both on and offline.

Since 2009 I’ve worked with thousands of freelance trainers, helping them to either get started in the world of freelancing or get their more established businesses to where they want them to be. The freelance training world can be tough but I do believe that with the right resources, information and support, there’s no reason why YOU can’t succeed with your freelance training business too.

In simple terms, the Associate Alert Service has put £s into my pocket as a result of contacts made through it; for me, the ROI has been excellent. Trainer Talk Live is a great way of networking with other trainers, pushing myself out of my comfort zone & getting re-invigorated. What’s more, a lot of what you learn in the morning sessions is immensely useful; as are the afternoon clinics. These face to face “peer-based” clinics are brilliantly followed up with the online versions – a great way to chew over challenges & bounce new ideas off people.

Not only that, but Sharon’s regular newsletters are informative, challenging & constructive.
If you’re a trainer or L&D professional, you really need to be working with Sharon!